Pain and Pleasure by Callie Vincent

16

Esmeralda

It's beena week since the night at the club and my schooling is slowly becoming the death of me.

I spend most of my days constantly tweaking and perfecting my restaurant plan while simultaneously completing math tests. I'm only a couple weeks into my last semester of college and I already want it to be over with.

My mom visits me during the day, bringing me coffee and lunch and sitting to chat with me during my breaks. I must admit that our relationship has gotten much stronger with both of us being here. She's been sober for two months now and I can see glimpses of the woman that she was before she met my father. It seems Dante isn't the only one that has to exercise his demons in this castle.

Ricky and I spend some early evenings by the pool, especially lately since Dante has been gone on different business trips to California. He doesn't tell me much when it comes to the business, but then again, I don't really ask. Although I do worry each time he leaves in a fresh new suit. I worry that when he comes back the suit will be covered in blood or he might not come back at all, but this is the price you pay when you love a criminal.

It's Saturday night and Dante has been gone since Thursday evening. We don't really talk while he's gone, as his missions have been mostly in regards to my father, I'm assuming. His brother nor his business partners have been involved and I often wonder if they even know about his mission to take down Juan Carlos in the first place. At the dinner where I spoke with his brother, we lied about our relationship with one another. Though I originally suspected it had to do with me, I'm starting to believe it has to do more with Dante's vengeance for his late father. For the man that my father killed.

Javier is making dinner tonight. Dante is supposed to return any minute from what Sergio has told me. I also noticed that he doesn't really bring Sergio with him on his missions, mostly just guards, several of them to be exact. Though I spend most of my time with my mother, Ricky and Javier, I can't help but pass by Sergio every so often in the house.

He's still just as stone cold and hard with me as he has been from the beginning, but I noticed that he doesn't look as angry whenever we meet each other's gazes. I'm walking into the library now and noticed that he's putting some files away into a suitcase. I stopped and we stared at each other silently for a few moments before I decide to ask him the question that's been boggling around in my mind since the minute our tension began.

"Why do you hate me, Sergio?" I asked quietly, shifting on the balls of my feet nervously.

He closes the suitcase and clicks the latches shut, not meeting my eyes the entire time he speaks.

"I do not hate you, Emmie," he says if he continues to shuffle around and grab more files from a cabinet in the library.

I feel confused by his admission and decide to press him further.

"Don't lie to me, Sergio. I see it in your eyes every time I look at you, hear it every time you speak to me. You don't want me here and I would rather you just tell me that instead of walking around me in this tense silence…"

I trail off and his head snaps up, his eyes meeting mine. I can tell he's older than both Dante and my mother by quite a few years. He’s bald so it's hard to tell in the color of his hair but you can see it around the lines of his eyes, the age and tiredness etching his face.

"I don't hate you. I worry about your place here. I worry about the damage you'll cause to this family." He says this with conviction, like he's certain I'm the detonator that will go off and explode everything around me.

I am so tired of being viewed as a threat, or as helpless, or as a target for that matter.

"I didn't choose to be the person that I am in this world. I never wanted to be a part of this world. If you can remember so clearly, you're the one that had a helping hand at dragging me blindly into this place."

I try not to sound angry or defensive, but I am. I may be staying here now, and the future may have changed from what I once thought it was, but that doesn't excuse his behavior or role in this. Everybody else has had their chance at redemption or their chance and explanation, but not him. And I'm tired of tiptoeing around him.

"My father isn't even my father, he's a sperm donor who's just as guilty at watching me and stalking me as you and your boss are."

Sergio eyes me as I speak, not saying a word as he clicks the last briefcase he has closed. He rests his hands on top of them both and stares at me in silence.

"I'm not asking to be your best friend, Sergio. I'm not even asking for your forgiveness because I don't need to be forgiven for anything. I'm not going to ask to be forgiven for being born into a world I never wanted to believe that existed in the first place."

I turn to walk away but his voice stops me. I turn around and see that both of the briefcases are in his hand and he's making his way toward Dante's wing.

"I'm not asking for you to forgive me, Esmeralda. What I want for you is to be very cautious in the decisions you make in Dante's life. You may think that you are in love with him because he protects you, but there are still many things you do not know about the man. I won't keep cleaning up the messes and mistakes that get made because he's too focused on living a fairy tale with you."

He walks away and leaves me in the library. I'm standing in confused silence but then I hear voices near the entrance of the house. Tucking away the conversation that Sergio and I just had, I make my way to the front door and I'm greeted by Dante. A clean and gunshot free Dante. I can't help but smile with joy when I see him, unable to hide the fact that I missed him so much.

He walks to me and holds me in his arms, tipping my chin up to look at him as he traces my lips with his fingertips.

"Good evening, mi ciela. Did you do anything fun while I was gone?" he asks, his voice smooth and sticky like honey.

I press my fingers into his biceps as I rest my forehead against his chest, breathing in his scent. He smells like cologne and leather today and it makes my legs tingle in response.

"Just redid my business proposal for the seventh time," I said, whispering into his white and crisp shirt.

He pulls back to look at me, smoothing my hair from my eyes. He narrows his eyes at me, picking up on my sudden mood. I hate that he can read me so openly. I have no way of hiding any emotion from this man.

"What's happened?" he demands.

I shrug, not really wanting to think about the conversation that Sergio and I just had. Definitely not wanting to relay it to Dante and have a potential fight on our hands.

"Nothing I just...I missed you. That's all." I look away, feeling shy because that is the truth.

My cheeks heat and he turns my head back in his direction, a small smile flirting with his lips. His hair is disheveled and the stubble lining his jaw is delectable.

"Te extrañé, mi cielo." I missed you, my sky.

I blush immediately and he chuckles before landing a sweet kiss on my forehead.

"Come. Javier said dinner was ready and I'm famished." He looks me up and down with a lustful expression and I laugh at him, thankful that he's not diving deeper and prying the reason for my strange mood out of me.

Javier has made duck for dinner and it's by far the best thing of his that I've tasted. As he refills our wine, I tell him to sit. Dante grabs a glass and pours the rest of the wine for him, offering it over as Javier sips it.

"I want to ask you for help," I tell him earnestly. He nods for me to go on.

"It's time for me to draft a menu for my business proposal. I have too many desserts on there, but not a lot of meals and I was wondering if...if you could…" Why am I struggling to ask for help?

"I'd love to help you, Emmie." He smiles at me and touches my hand. I thank him as I laugh awkwardly.

"I've done a lot on my own, but I haven't really had the...time for cooking and getting creative in the kitchen, I guess. I've learned so much from you, but I don't want to steal any of your recipes. I would much rather have your help and ideas for what I have in mind."

He finishes his glass of wine and grabs my play before grabbing everyone else's. I noticed Dante staring at me from the corner of his eye, but I stay focused on Javier, eager to hear what else he has to say.

"I think your mind is plenty creative, Emmie. I'm going to help you because I would love to help you, but give yourself a little credit where it's due. You're a fantastic cook and you deserve the right to express yourself how you choose to." He winks at me and walks into the kitchen with our dirty plates.

After a few more moments of small talk and finishing our wine, Ricky gets up and excuses himself. He has a long day with Marianne tomorrow as fashion week is now starting. Apparently, they have finished a lot of different designs and she's not only ready to showcase them during fashion week, but she's also ready to open up her own store with her own clothes. I've never felt prouder of Ricky, and after getting to know Marianne now, I'm incredibly proud of her.

Dante and I sit in silence, and I noticed that he's been staring at me since Javier left the room.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask, only half joking as his stare is now starting to become a little unnerving.

He shrugs, downing his wine before leaning back in his chair and crossing his leg over the other. I noticed the outline of his dick in his pants and I try to remain focused on his face, but fail immensely. He notices my moving eyes and offers me a smirk before going back to staring at me quizzically.

"I was actually wondering if you were ever going to ask me if I could help you with something. It seems you've been in a rush to do it with everyone else but me."

He twirls his empty wine glass in his hand as he continues to stare at me, making me feel as if he's put me on the spot. I must admit I never really thought to ask him for help. Not only is he busy with most of his other endeavors majority of the time, I'm not sure how he could even help me to begin with. It's almost as if he could hear the last thought in my head from what he says next.

"Esmeralda, I run a string of successful businesses, most of them restaurants and clubs. I think I know a thing or two about business plans and proposals. I don't just slap a wad of cash on a bank counter and then poof, a business appears," he says as he refills his wine.

I straighten up in my chair, feeling a little bit angry at the way he just spoke to me. I know I haven't asked him for help, but he doesn't need to explain how opening a business works to me as if I'm a child. Then again, I guess old habits really do die hard.

"I'd love to help you, Emmie," he says earnestly and it makes my heart soften a little bit.

I can't imagine working with Dante as a business partner, but that doesn't mean that he can't give me a few pointers on something he's successfully done for many years in his life. So I decide to humor him, or please him. I'm not really sure to be honest.

"Fine, you can help me with my business proposal. Though I'm going to tell you now, I'm asking for help, not for micromanaging. I've been crafting this for years and I won't have anybody’s suggestions deter me from what I envision," I explain and he smiles in response.

"I'd love nothing more than to see how your creative mind works, mi ciela. In the meantime…" he gets up and tosses back almost a whole glass of wine. He seems calm and impassive tonight, but with the way that he's drinking I'm assuming the last couple days on his trip weren't too peaceful.

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask.

He holds his hand out to me in offering and I take it as he pulls me up, shaking his head slightly as his lips find my jawline.

"Not right now, but there is something I need to ask of you," he says against my skin. I tilt my head back to look at him.

"What is it?" I ask, feeling a small shiver snake its way down my spine. It's not a good feeling, it's an apprehensive one.

I can tell that I'm right because he gives me a slightly sheepish look.

"Just tell me, Dante, what is it?" I demand. His fingers stroke my chin before he sighs.

"Your father hasn't shown any amount of sightings in recent weeks. I have leads telling me that he knows you're with me, which could be the leading cause. But I think…" he trails off and I grow impatient because I already know what he's about to ask.

"Just say it," I tell him. He gives me a sorry look in response.

"I need you to go with Sergio to the club for a few nights, see if he'll sniff out your presence there so we can get a better idea of his weaknesses."

I roll my eyes, exasperated. I'm so tired of being the bait and tackle for my father, but I'd also be silly if I thought my ties with him were completely over and done. That won't happen until he's dead and he and I both know it.

"And what exactly do you need me to do while I'm there?" I ask him.

"It's actually an exciting business opportunity if you think about it," he says, a small and arrogant smirk flirting with his lips. I hate that it looks so good on him because it makes me smile too.

"Oh really? And what does this business opportunity entail?" I ask.

He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close as he talks into my hair.

"Some experience in management. I'll even give you a fancy title. I was thinking...Creative Director. You'll be in charge of staffing and all creative development," he explains as he kisses my neck.

"Tell me more," I all but moan out, and he chuckles darkly into my ear.

"And also maybe a very special thank you from the boss." He licks around my ear and I shiver, gripping his biceps.

"And when do I get that?" I whisper.

Before I know it, he's picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. I stare at his wild eyes as he sets me down on the dining room table, going to his knees and looking me in the eye as he does it.

"Right now," he growls, before diving between my thighs.